Acoustic Slow Flow | autumn grounded flow

This slow flow yoga practice incorporates grounded movement, mindful breathing, and restorative poses to give you a sense of peace and calm in your body and mind. Inspired by the season of autumn, it's a wonderfully slow sequence that is particularly effective during this time of year or during other times of change.

2 blankets + 1 bolster are the suggested props for this class.

This playlist features the songs Ripples ~ Autumn Light, Glow and To Dream, which can be found on In the Flow's Insight Timer page.

Transcript

Hi everyone, My name is Matt and this is an acoustic slow flow yoga practice. So for my slow flow classes, I like to be on the ground. For me, That works really well. I feel like it helps kind of flip my nervous system into more of a relaxed kind of response near the end. So that's the goal for this practice. I'm also very inspired by the seasons. So we're almost in autumn here in Arizona and I feel like this is a great practice to do, Especially when there's a lot of change. So even if you're practicing when it's not autumn or there's kind of a seasonal transition, Maybe there's something in your life that's changing, This sequence I think can be great for that. So I hope it works for you. As far as the props, A couple blankets either side of the mat set up would be great like this. And then also a bolster or something like that to sit up on to start. So we'll start in Sukhasana. Which isn't easy. Cross-legged seated position, So pose of good space. Take your time to land there. Once you're there, Bring palms face down to thighs. So in an energetic kind of way, Palm face down is more grounding. So facing towards the earth. Give yourself about five good breaths. Just land. Notice your breath cycle. Notice how you feel right now. These last couple breath cycles just notice if you're feeling pretty balanced or maybe you're a little bit more on the yin side of things and what I mean by that is maybe less energetic than you'd like to be maybe even a little bit lethargic maybe you're a little bit more on the yang side of things so maybe a little bit too much energy maybe that's translating into anxiety and all that's okay just taking the time to notice the last breath to notice. As you're ready, With your next inhale lift your shoulders up toward your ears. Exhale, Long sigh out your mouth as they drop back down. That one more time. So inhale, Lift, Breathing through nose. Exhale that sigh and drop. A good breath or two there just notice the change. We'll do a breathing practice to help balance the energy. So this is called Nadi Shodhana, The Sanskrit. In English, It's alternate nostril breathing. So taking your first two fingers, It's your index and middle of your right hand, Pressing gently in between your eyebrows. Next inhale, Take that for your left nostril. And exhale out the reins. You know, Right? Exhale left. So that's one full cycle, So now just continue that at your own pace of breath. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. And we'll finish with one last cycle. Next time you exhale out of your left nostril, That is the last cycle. So bring that top hand, Palm face down back to that bottom thigh. And then just let that drift into an ujjayi breath cycle. If you're not familiar with that, It's the same thing that you do if you were to go to fog up a mirror, Except for you just keep your mouth closed the whole time. That results in a nice oceanic wave-like sound. We'll take about five breaths to start. And now just notice your energy. So after that breathing practice, Notice if you're a little bit more balanced in the center. Hopefully. Feel good, More long breaths in that space. Try to stay connected to that long ujjayi breath cycle throughout the rest of this practice. If your eyes are closed, Open them back up. And then with your next inhale, We'll link some breath with movement. Next inhale, More of a subtle movement, So allow that inhale to start the movement to bring your arms out wide. With your exhale, Bend your elbows, Bring your hands back to thighs. It's like a slow wing movement. Next inhale, We'll just continue flowing with that. Arms out wide. I can see a pause back there, Guys. And inhale, Arms out wide. Just feel that nice flow, Slow movement, Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Your next exhale, We'll keep the arms there, Stay there. And we'll find a side stretch. So next inhale, Drop the. Right arm down to the right, Left arm up and overhead. And once you're there, About three long, Good breaths. One way to deepen that is pressing your hips more down towards the earth. Reaching the top fingertips more to the side as you bend that bottom elbow at the same time. With your next exhale, We're going to make a half circle. Walk to the center to a sukhasana forward fold. So spread your fingers out wide, Inhale, Lengthen. Your exhale, Find your fold to melt your heart and forehead towards the earth. Extra long breath there. Next, Inhale, Side stretch to the opposite side. So right hand down, Left arm up and overhead. Same thing, Three long good breaths. Pressing hips more down, Reaching top fingertips more to the side. Bend that bottom elbow. And at last, Inhale is your deepest. Next exhale, We're going to press off the bottom hand, Bring it back to center, Arms out wide. Inhale, Lengthen fingertips to fingertips. This time with your exhale bring your hands behind you. Take note of which ankle you started with in front. Plant your feet down and stay there or cycle your knees side to side. So we'll do about three more cycles. So as you find your flow with that, Just lean into that a little bit more. So both hands behind the same hip. Now to the opposite side. Just wringing out a little bit more each cycle with your twists. And back to center. Then bring the opposite ankle in front, Back to Sukhasana, Good breath, Notice the change. That same slow wing movement flow. So inhale, Arms out wide. Exhale, Left foot back. Inhale out wide. Exhale, Lift a little back. Inhale out wide. Exhale, They float back. Inhale out wide. Exhale, Float back. Inhale out wide, Again we'll stay, Exhale. Next, Inhale, Side stretch, Starting on the opposite side. So up and over to your left side. Get about three long breaths. Be that last inhale deepest, Reaching the most. Exhale, Walk fingertips back to center. Inhaling from center. Exhale forward. So inhale, Right side stretch, And about three long breaths. Give me that last inhale, Reaching the most. Exhale, Again, Walking the sensor. Inhale, Lengthen, Center. Exhale, Fold. So extra long breath there in the center. And there again, Walking your hands back. Back to Sukhasana, So hands back to thighs. Next, Inhale, Arms out wide. Your next exhale, This time, Tent your fingertips to either side of your hips. We're gonna find a neck stretch from here. Inhale pressing hips more down towards the earth as you lift your head to the more towards the sky. With your next exhale, Let your right ear fall toward your right shoulder. Into a nice stretch on the left side of your neck. You can stay or crawl your left fingertips further away. Think about five more deep breaths in that space. Last couple breath cycles you're breathing so deeply that you start to feel more and more tension release in the neck and shoulder area. Curl your fingertips even further away. Step 3. Chin towards the chest. And then we'll just carve that line a few times so we get back to Shul there. Carving that lion's chin back to chest, Doing that a few more times. Next time your ear comes up toward your shoulder, We'll keep that. Last couple breaths. Move your chin back to that start position, So back in the center. Deep inhale. Exhale, Left ear to left shoulder. And staying, Maybe crawling right fingertips further away from the hip. Promise. There, Just dipping your chin down and carving out the same line, Just opposite side. And then about three or four more times, Moving nice and slow. Next time the ear reaches towards the shoulder, We'll stay five long breaths. And you're getting crawling fingers that's further away. And staying so connected to that long breath cycle. Each exhale feels like you're really releasing tension. Chin back to center. Breath there. Inhale, Arms back out wide. Exhale again, Floating hands behind you. Let your feet down. I can stay there in the center or I can rock these side to side. Again, You can keep that hands behind or twist more so both hands just come behind that same hip. Last cycle. Back to Sukhasana, Whichever ankle in front. Give yourself a good breath. Notice how you feel now, A little bit lighter, Especially more space in the neck and shoulders. Sit up a little bit taller. Then we'll transition to tabletop. To break the bolster off to the side of the mat. You can always pad your knees too with a blanket underneath your knees. Otherwise coming straight down to your mats. Once you're there, Spread your fingers out wide. Connect to the earth with hands and feet and knees. Once you're good there, Next inhale, Let that guide you to your first cow pose. With your exhale, Cat. And take about two more to set your own pace. We'll take about three more. So if cow and cat is best, Continue that going. Otherwise, Add in more of an undulation with your cows. You're just rolling more forward. Exhale, Rolling more back. So it's just an expanded energy wave going through your spine. Two more slow cycles. That last cycle will come back to a child's pose. So knees wide, Hips back to heels. You can stay there with elbows on the earth or bend at your elbows more and bring your hands in a prayer shape above your head to find that nice tricep stretch and transpose. Exhale and release. Inhale come up to either cat or table. With your exhale, Bring your forearms down, So maybe one at a time, To sphinx pose. It will take about three long good breaths to breathe in Sphinx. This always feels great for my low back, Kind of perfect. If it doesn't for you, You can play rocking the weights, Forearms to forearm, Forward and back. How high your chest is off the earth. Last good breath after you've found your pose. You have the option to stay here, Otherwise we'll add on with a core practice from Sphinx. So with your next inhale, Find a version of cow pose. So hips more down towards the earth. Maybe you lift your heart higher, Gaze higher. Exhale, Use your core to peel your low belly and hips off the earth to find a cat pose. And then we'll just keep flowing with that. So inhale, Cow. Exhale, Cat. Inhale, Count. Exhale, Cat. Inhale cow. The last exhale, Cat pose. We'll hang on to cat pose. So deep breaths. Even though you're strongly using your core, Can you breathe in a three-dimensional kind of way. So that low belly is still expanding and contracting with your breath. Last good inhale in this version of cat pose. Exhale, Release your hips down so it's back in sphinx. Relay in and about three long breath cycles. So just see how you feel now in Sphinx. And we'll turn some of those poses into a flow. So we're going to skip the cowl and cap. But with your next inhale just find a lengthened, Deeper version of Sphinx. So maybe again, Lifting your heart a little bit higher. So it is kind of like a cow pose. With your exhale, Place your heart down, Plant your hands underneath the shoulders, Setting it for Cobra. And then with your inhale, Find a lengthened version of Cobra. So not your deepest backbend, Just think toes away from crown of head. Exhale, Press off your hands and bring it back to child's pose. Once you're in child's and active child's pose, Spreading fingers wide, Press fingers away from hips, Deep inhale to lengthen. So, Fingertips away from hips. Your exhale may be melting more, So heart and forehead more towards the earth. And with your inhale come up to cat or table. Keep flowing that, So exhale. Tornating forearms coming down back to sphinx. Sphinx. Inhale deeper sphinx, Deeper backbend, And it's just energetic. I can see him with these hard plate hands. Inhale that lengthened cobra. Next year, Press that chance, Folks. So inhale that active child's pose, Pressing fingertips away from hips. Accel melting more. . . Inhale. Cat or table. Exhale, Forearm down, Alternating sphinx. Inhale, Deeper Sphinx. Exhale release plant hands. Inhale lengthen the cobra. You can see him press off hands back to child's. Inhale, Active child's. Exhale melting child's pose Inhale, Cat or table. Exhale, Alternating down swings. Inhale Sphinx pose. Exhale, Release, Hands plants. Inhale, Lengthen the cobra. Exhale back to child's pose. Inhale, Reaching, Child's Pose, Active. Exhale, Melting more. Inhale, Come up to table or cat pose. And we'll stay in that pose, Standing table. And then from there, Some slow hula hoop hip circles. So one direction. Taking your time with that, You can go as slow as you'd like, Small circles as you'd like. So you get the hang of that, Maybe bigger circles, Maybe moving a little bit quicker. So after that nice deeper core connection that we found with that cow and cat from Sphinx. You're staying connected to that same area. So hopefully that should feel really grounding. You're really connected to your third chakra. In the opposite direction. Feel even in both directions. Come back to table. And then here's where we'll use the blankets to either side of the map. So if they're not set up, Just take the time to set that up. We'll come to lie down, So thighs, Hips, Belly, Then chest. This is our start position. You can stay here, And we'll find half frog pose. So bring the right leg out to the right. Right knee stays in line with the right hip. And this is meant to be more restorative, So if that's best. You can stay otherwise straight through the right leg. To help land more deeply. Just lift your hips up. And then pull your hips further away from that knee. You reset your hips back down. Then stack your hands, So one hand on top of the opposite hand and forehead to hands. And we'll be here for a little while. So about 15 to 20 deep breaths. Just let gravity and those deep breaths do the work in this pose. Just notice if you feel any tension anywhere that you don't need. See if you can let that go. And about five more of your long breaths. And if you need extra time, Staying. Once you're ready, Lean a bit more to your left side as you bring that right leg straight back behind. And take a couple long breaths in the center. So notice how you feel side to side. The big toes touch, Heels fall away. As you are ready, Switch sides. Lean the weight more towards the right side. Left leg goes out, Lands on the blanket. Knee in line with hip. And staying, Maybe that leg goes straight. So coming into that in that same way, So hands behind or underneath shoulders. Pull your hips away from the knee. Reset hips down. Sack hands, Maybe opposite hand on top. Forehead to hands. In about 15 to 20 long breaths. And just let your weight settle into the earth. And again, Just let gravity and those deep breaths do the work. If you're noticing tension, Letting that go if you can. Five more breaths. And as you feel balance versus that first side, Coming up, Lean more to the right side, The left leg goes straight back, Big toes touch, Heels fall away. Re-stack hands, Forehead back to hands. Deep breaths, Noticing. Oh, This is actually a yin version of Shavasana, Lying face down. So if that's correct, You can stay for Shavasana. Another version with the props though is this. Take the bolster. Your torso is going to go on the bolster with one blanket. You'll roll that up. That'll go underneath your ankles. The opposite blankets, Stack that one more time. It'll go underneath your forehead. And this is probably my favorite way to do Shavasana. Comes to lie down. Get yourself set up. Cactus arms. Forehead goes to blanket. So once you're there, Long inhale for your nose. Long exhale, Sigh out your mouth. Drop your ujjayi breath cycle. So just let it happen naturally now. And you have no other responsibility right here, Right now. This is time for you to let go and relax, And I'll play a song. And this is a song called Soften. The past is in the past The future is unknown Right here and right now That's where we belong No-ness on the inside You feel it when the world slows down. Taking a walk in nature Life's beautiful song Cause there's always something to do. No way is somewhere to be, But what about you? Yeah, Here. Maybe it's better to let it be To the space of the in-between Maybe it's better to soften and just breathe. The past is behind The future is beyond. Waking up in the moment As we learn to fly Learning to move like water The tide pulls us along Getting into our hearts is life's beautiful song Because there's always something to change. There's always something to fix, But what about you? Yeah, You Maybe it's better to let it be Into the space of the in-between Maybe it's better to soften and just breathe. Just stay here and realize and just breathe. Take a moment to realize that you're free Take a moment and spend it Then just be with me Take a moment to realize that we are free Maybe it's better to let it be To the space of the in-between Maybe it's better to soften and just breathe. And just breathe. You're in that lying face down Shavasana shape. Take a few long breaths to just bring it back. Maybe moving fingers and toes Give me a little rock side to side with heels. Once you're ready, Press off your hands. Taken back to a child's pose. Good breath, Child's Pose. Coming up to tabletop. Crossing your ankles, Come to sit down, Support with a bolster or not, Your choice. Back to Sukhasana. So a couple of good long breaths Sukhasana. Back where we started. Notice how you feel now. Hands to heart. Give yourself a nice thanks for making the time for yourself. And doing your practice for your own sense of well-being. We just appreciate those ripple effects to everything, Everyone around us by doing that. And with one collective breath as we inhale through nose. Exhale, Softly sigh out now. Enjoy the rest of your day, Evening. Thank you so much for joining me. Namaste.